Saturday event targeted to those struggling with addiction

Tim Christensen, shown at the CF University center Monday Nov. 5, 2012, will be a speaker at the Recover Ocala event on Nov. 10. He started drinking at the age of 14, it escalated and eventually started doing pain meds and cocaine. At 18, he made his first suicide attempt - tried to strangle himself with a cord. At 27, he tried again - shot himself in the forehead with a .22. He had brain surgery and was Baker Acted into rehab in Gainesville, then was moved back to Ocala to a half-way house. On Nov. 3 he was clean for five years. He now has a part-time job, has earned his AA in psychology at CF and is in a bachelor's program at St. Leo. He wants to work at a treatment facility to help others like himself.

Alan Youngblood/Ocala Star-Banner/Pool

By Marian RizzoCorrespondent

Published: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:29 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:29 a.m.

The third annual Recover Ocala will bring together those who need help with those who can give it. Organizer Michael Beck knows what it’s like to be on both sides of the fence.

Born a crack baby to a 14-year-old drug addict, Beck was repeatedly arrested for drug possession and ended up in a juvenile detention center once and in the Marion County Jail four times. Now drug-free for five years, Beck is senior pastor of the Wildwood United Methodist Church and an assistant pastor at New Covenant United Methodist Church in The Villages. Three years ago, he founded Recover Ocala to help others who fall into the same pit he left behind.

Previously held at Tuscawilla Park, the event will take place Saturday at the former Silver Springs Shores welcome center on the corner of Maricamp and Emerald roads. Numerous service organizations and churches will provide information and resources.

“We felt like we wanted to hit a different population of people who need some recovery services,” Beck said. “We felt like the Shores is that area. The only special challenge is that we might not be able to reach the folks that would be in downtown Ocala. The fact of the matter is, maybe one out of 20 people who have been caught in the vice of addiction and are incarcerated are able to make it. This is really an effort to try and unify everybody across the board to help people.”

The free event will have refreshments, children’s activities, live music and guest speakers. Tim Christensen, organizer of the event’s first 5K race, will speak about his own past addictions, which began with drinking at age 14 and escalated to cocaine use by the time he was 25.

“There was a point where it was just a common thing to come home and drink,” Christensen said. “There wasn’t a day when I wasn’t using something or drinking a lot to get me through that day. There was always a constant need to numb out.”

Christensen attempted suicide twice, once at age 18 when he tried to strangle himself with a cord, and again at 27, when he shot himself in the forehead.

“I didn’t have a good support network,” Christensen said. “I had hit an emotional, financial and spiritual bottom. It was pretty hopeless, and I didn’t think there was a purpose for me anymore. My solution was to just take myself off the planet.”

After recovering from brain surgery, Christensen was sent to a rehabilitation center where he was introduced to a 12-step program. Nov. 3 was the five-year anniversary of his first day of sobriety.

“I started reaching out and asking for help,” Christensen said. “I went through four months of outpatient at a Florida recovery center and afterward was discharged back to Ocala to a halfway house. I started going back to school to finish my AA in psychology at CF, then went for a bachelor’s at St. Leo. I plan on working in a mental health treatment center. My life was saved by the counselors and the doctors, and I felt like this was my way to give back and to help people who come in, just like I came in.”

John Delcamp, pastor of Shores Assembly of God, said he was glad to see the program will be in the Shores this year.

“I see a lot of needs, not just financial needs, but a lot of addictions, a lot of dysfunctional families, especially in the Shores,” Delcamp said. “The event is there to provide the resources for them to connect to. I just encourage people to see their need for help, because that’s one of the biggest problems, to see their need and to realize there’s hope.

“And, those who can help need to step out beyond the four walls of their agency or their church and be the church that God has called the church to be, to be His hands and arms extended.”

<p>The third annual Recover Ocala will bring together those who need help with those who can give it. Organizer Michael Beck knows what it's like to be on both sides of the fence.</p><p>Born a crack baby to a 14-year-old drug addict, Beck was repeatedly arrested for drug possession and ended up in a juvenile detention center once and in the Marion County Jail four times. Now drug-free for five years, Beck is senior pastor of the Wildwood United Methodist Church and an assistant pastor at New Covenant United Methodist Church in The Villages. Three years ago, he founded Recover Ocala to help others who fall into the same pit he left behind.</p><p>Previously held at Tuscawilla Park, the event will take place Saturday at the former Silver Springs Shores welcome center on the corner of Maricamp and Emerald roads. Numerous service organizations and churches will provide information and resources.</p><p>“We felt like we wanted to hit a different population of people who need some recovery services,” Beck said. “We felt like the Shores is that area. The only special challenge is that we might not be able to reach the folks that would be in downtown Ocala. The fact of the matter is, maybe one out of 20 people who have been caught in the vice of addiction and are incarcerated are able to make it. This is really an effort to try and unify everybody across the board to help people.”</p><p>The free event will have refreshments, children's activities, live music and guest speakers. Tim Christensen, organizer of the event's first 5K race, will speak about his own past addictions, which began with drinking at age 14 and escalated to cocaine use by the time he was 25.</p><p>“There was a point where it was just a common thing to come home and drink,” Christensen said. “There wasn't a day when I wasn't using something or drinking a lot to get me through that day. There was always a constant need to numb out.”</p><p>Christensen attempted suicide twice, once at age 18 when he tried to strangle himself with a cord, and again at 27, when he shot himself in the forehead.</p><p>“I didn't have a good support network,” Christensen said. “I had hit an emotional, financial and spiritual bottom. It was pretty hopeless, and I didn't think there was a purpose for me anymore. My solution was to just take myself off the planet.”</p><p>After recovering from brain surgery, Christensen was sent to a rehabilitation center where he was introduced to a 12-step program. Nov. 3 was the five-year anniversary of his first day of sobriety.</p><p>“I started reaching out and asking for help,” Christensen said. “I went through four months of outpatient at a Florida recovery center and afterward was discharged back to Ocala to a halfway house. I started going back to school to finish my AA in psychology at CF, then went for a bachelor's at St. Leo. I plan on working in a mental health treatment center. My life was saved by the counselors and the doctors, and I felt like this was my way to give back and to help people who come in, just like I came in.”</p><p>John Delcamp, pastor of Shores Assembly of God, said he was glad to see the program will be in the Shores this year.</p><p>“I see a lot of needs, not just financial needs, but a lot of addictions, a lot of dysfunctional families, especially in the Shores,” Delcamp said. “The event is there to provide the resources for them to connect to. I just encourage people to see their need for help, because that's one of the biggest problems, to see their need and to realize there's hope.</p><p>“And, those who can help need to step out beyond the four walls of their agency or their church and be the church that God has called the church to be, to be His hands and arms extended.”</p>